Golden Wings for a Tattered Soul
by Drops of Jupiter in My Hair
Summary: "No, it's not like I just sat back & enjoyed the whole 'I'm a monster' thing. I used to really hate myself for being a freak, so I did my research. A Harpy is what I came up with." An arranged marriage isn't exactly what Naruto's expecting when he finds another of his kind, and gets wrapped up in a world similar to his own. [SasuNaru]


**AN:** Damn, I'm on a roll today with uploading all these ideas I've had, huh. Anyway, another possible story, judging by how you all react.

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They're sort of like a bat's wing, actually. There's my arm, and then the feathers spreading from the outer edge of it, sprouting from my shoulder blades then growing in size as they run all the way down to my wrists like flames until they branch off. They're large too, the longest feathers being about as long as my arm. The wings themselves are probably tall enough to shield my entire body from view, my arm only really going less-than-half way up.

But everything's not just 'Ooh, pretty feathers'. Nope, there's also the fact that my feet turn to large fucking _bird feet_ (talons and all). And then there's my tail. You guessed it, more feathers. Though they sort of resemble a peacock's, in a way. Not in the feather's themselves, no, those still look like regular feathers. But in the fact that they're incredibly long, sort of like a robe which drags on the ground behind you.

Nearly all my bird-like features are extremely large though, aren't they? Well, jokes on all those legends since I can indeed, hide my wings, feet, and tail. That's the only reason I've survived this long. With two average human parents and a boring human school living in an atrociously boring human town- What was I to do? I never quite felt like I fit in, in the first place, anyway. Ever since I was a child I've noticed, and the townsfolk felt it too. I've always been the pariah. Whether it was being picked last for group activities, of being left out on the playground- It's simply always been me.

Not that I mind. I've been alone since as long as I could remember, save for my parents. Human games aren't very interesting anyway- I much prefer flying. I didn't learn to actually fly until I was eleven though, my wings being too small and feeble up until then, causing me to be too scared to even try. Then on my eleventh birthday, right as I awoke, I found myself laying in a pile of large, fluffy, yellow and black feathers. Turns out they were my wings which decided to have a sudden growth spurt. I realized then that they must be strong too, considering as I laid atop them, I couldn't even distinguish my weight from their natural, light weight (in my opinion, anyway).

And no, it's not as if I just sat back and enjoyed the whole 'Imma monster' thing. When I was younger, I really hated myself for being a freak. So I did my research, of course. A Harpy, is what I came up with. Of course all the images were different, but it was about the closest I could get to what I was. As for a bird, my wings were nearly exactly the same (though fluffier, larger, and stronger) as a Golden Tanager.

Fuck, if I ever needed to hide, I'd have one hard-ass time with the bright yellow contrasting with the pitch black. And not only my wings, but my chest color has also always been kind of orange, in my opinion. Just like the Golden Tanager. I mean, whenever I wore blue shirts, you could swear it wasn't even my skin! Wearing orange shirts made the easiest excuses. And not only that, but the strange, dark markings on my cheeks. In my more human form, they resemble three, horizontal, symmetrical scars. When I go all harpy-psycho though, they blur a bit more, becoming thicker. The skin around them darkens a tad too, in the shape of a large, black splotch, just like the bird. Do I even have to bring up the similarly thin, silvery legs/feet?

So yes, I was relatively sure what sort of half-species I was. Sadly, the Golden Tanager seemed to be a rare species, since even throughout all the research I did there wasn't much to go on. Apparently they liked moss for many purposes, bugs and fruits for food, hanging upside down, were generally found in a flock of several other different species, and their calls/movement directed said groups' moment. Like a leader.

As for the mating, it mentioned something about copying the other's movements, raising the head, lowering it's wings, and raising it's tail. But I didn't search much into that anyway. What were the chances of me ever mating? With a bird, no less.

There was more information too, of course, but my memory isn't that great. I did that research when I was like... eight? Some time around, back when I still hadn't accepted that I wasn't human, and never would be human.

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**AN:** Short and sweet for the prologue. [bittersweet by the last line, at least.]

Your thoughts?


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